Damai Beach Resort Kuching
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Teluk Bandung, Santubong, PO Box 2870, Damai Beach (Formerly Holiday Inn) Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, 93756, 82-846999
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Traveler Photos of Damai Beach Resort Kuching
Travel Blogs by Travelers Who Stayed at the Damai Beach Resort Kuching
Today was the Chinese festival of the Hungry Ghosts. Souls that are in purgatory are believed to return to earth to feast, so food is offered to these wandering spirits. The churchyards were full and many families were burning fake money and other offerings. We were to visit Semenggoh Wildlife Centre just outside Kuching. The aim of the Centre is to return many of the orang-utans they have back to the wild. It was a marvellous opportunity to see these semi wild animals up close, a little too ...
Kuching, Malaysia jowhiting
For more pictures click here How about a beach retreat? A short flight to Kuching Malaysia from Singapore (about 45 minutes) a 35 minute drive and you find yourself on Damai beach in Sarawak Malaysia. Damai beach itself is quite sleepy, there is really only the Holiday Inn resort for accommodations but the beach itself is quite nice. The food options are also rather limited, but for those who are adventurous, the seafood village 10 minutes away offers fresh caught fish cooked to order. The ho...
Kuching, Malaysia kristyharris
The author of Lonely Planet had made the bold claim of 'one of the nicest cities in Asia'and like Sunday sheep in a round of 'One Man and his Dog' we unquestioningly followed the advice. Lucky for us. Our now customary lack of forward planning at last paid off. Firstly, Kuching was everything Georgetown had not been - beautiful, relaxed, unspoilt, clean and friendly. Secondly, we had managed to squeeze a booking out of the Holiday Inn (the only hotel right on Kuchings'idyllic waterfront) at t...
Kuching, Malaysia samandphil
Today we flew out from KL to Kuching. We were the only English passengers on board and got a special welcome, which made us feel v special! Caused a bit of controversy at customs as we had no arrival stamp for Malaysia - we caught the train from Singapore and there simply wasn't a customs when we arrived - so the immigration people got a bit flustered what with us being awol for 5 days. Still, I explained what had happened, that we were now here at Kuching, and that I had a stamp for leaving ...
Kuching, Malaysia suzhu
Way, way back, perhaps when we were in Nepal, we received an interesting email message. The Gorman family, who had been faithfully following our travels from the very beginning, apparently found us somewhat interesting and/or entertaining, and they decided to help us out. They graciously offered us a week in their timeshare resort, with the option of a couple locations in Malaysia and Israel. Erin, who had been complaining about a vacation from our vacation for a while, immediately jumped on ...
Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia youngtravellersHistorical Traveler Reviews of Damai Beach Resort Kuching
Paradise!
We will be returning in October06.
I am shocked at the reviews given by some tripadvisors.
I think when you visit Kuching/Sarawak you have to put yourself into "Borneo" time and relax.
Nothing happens very quickly but hey have you got an appointment to go to?
The staff are always friendly always found rooms clean and setting is "Paradise"
Cant wait for the next trip!
We loved it
Excellent rates
The included breakfast is decent although not much changes in the daily menu. We didn't eat in the main restauranr but the Treez restaurant within the resort have reasonable prices. Again not much of a variety but still we had to eat.
Kuching is just a 45 minutes ride in the shuttle bus for under US$3 each way.
The wet season wasn't wet at all...
All in all excellent value.
Love the hotel and staff
Go for the chalets, steer clear from hilltops!!
We managed to get a chalet after 2 nights, and it was much more pleasant. Right on the beach (which was very nice - beware of the occasional jellyfish though) and room was newer and better maintained.
The Kid's playground is nothing to shout about - the rocking horses do not rock & the treehouse's interior is wet & mouldy looking. The play area is locked up. Overall, looks more threatening than inviting!!
Eat out if you can - there are several eating places which provide free transport. The dinner buffet at the hotel is very poor value for money.
At least the Damai Beach looks better than the Damai Lagoon. Facilities there look even more tired than the Damai Beach, and the restaurant's food is not much better, and service is very slow and staff look very disinterested. At least the service at Damai Beach is friendly.
That said, we'll probably stay at the Damai Beach again if we go to the area, as it appears to be the best in the area.
What a HUGE disappointment
We decided to eat in the main restaurant on the first night. It was a buffet meal and we tried several courses. The food was cold and poorly presented. The items in the buffet were not replenished and no-one cleared any plates from our table during the entire meal. At the end of the meal we had 9 dirty plates on the table and had to stack them ourselves to free up some space!
The poolside 'bar' was a joke. Drinks can be ordered at the bar if the barman can be bothered to turn up, because he's also attending the bar in the hotel and preparing drinks for the restaurant. It took over 45 minutes to get a drink, and the barman dropped it just as he was about to hand it over!
Lunches were prepared and left standing covered in flies before they were finally brought to our table, by which time they were stone-cold.
This hotel needs a complete change of management. No-one seems to know what they are doing, especially in the restaurant. There are either insufficient numbers of staff, or the staff are not being properly trained. A new chef and a change of menu is essential. As a European on holiday in Asia I do not want to eat poor quality Western food. I would rather have good quality local food, prepared properly and hygenically.
I am already preparing a letter of complaint to send to my tour operator. If anyone from Holiday Inn reads this, please do something before you disappoint more people. This hotel could be lovely, but the service and food is awful.
Lovely Views, Tasteless Foods
In conclusion, it's nice place to stay with friendly staff but when it turn to find the best food, I suggest you guys to go to Kuching or nearest place i.e Kampung Buntal.
STAY WELL WELL AWAY!!!!
First impressions are very good when you arrive, there's a nice reception area which looks over a nice pool & restaurant with an outside veranda. Then there's beach & the amazing views of the South China Sea (shame about the murky water & BOX JELLY FISH).
A superior pool side room is quite large & comfortable, but that's about as good as it gets really.
The Santabong Cafe is the only place to eat in the main complex of Damai Beach, but unfortunately you take your life into your own hands. My advice is stay well; well clear of ANY meat/fish or anything that has to be properly cooked to be eaten.
I was only here for four days, but after the second day I was eating chips & vegetable spring rolls. Several people in our party were ill & one was hospitalized through food poisoning, I personally had uncooked chicken and a burger that tasted of disinfectant. As for the fish it was cooked hours before and left on trays for the buffet for the rest of the night. The staff at Damai Beach are pleasant & very apologetic which is a lot more than can be said for the staff Damai Lagoon.
The Damai Lagoon is an annex to Damai Beach accessible via the free shuttle bus or a 10 minute walk. They also have the one restaurant which is very big & spacious, the food at the Lagoon is excellent & cannot be faulted, but this cannot be said of the staff.
It's almost like the hotel dragged people off the street a few hours before & asked them to go be waiter/waitresses. I ate there twice & both times the meal took in excess of 3 HOURS to complete with approximately 30-45 mins eating time. We had to clear our own plates away on one occasion. But the thing that really gets to you is the compulsory 10% service charge.
So it's which is the lesser of two evils 1) Get food poisoning at Damai Beach or 2) Die of starvation at Damai Lagoon.
Beautiful place
Damai Beach
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